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I was intrigued by Lisa Belkin's article on "mommy bloggers" -- particularly Heather Armstrong of Dooce -- in last week's New York Times Magazine. I found the question of how much it is wise, or fair, to reveal about one's family particularly compelling.Belkin writes:

If Cornell was not the first, it was among the first to have a "policy on policies." The name never goes by a group of newcomers to the area without nervous laughter. Among those imbued in it, it can be an eye-roller. What is it about this concept that creates a strong reaction, and how best can an institution structure it to meet the Goldilocks test of a "just right" happy medium?

I leave for Philadelphia next Saturday to attend the 2011 NASPA Annual Conference. Thousands of student affairs practitioners and higher education vendors will be in attendance at one of the largest student affairs conferences in the U.S.

The lead article in today’s edition of Inside Higher Ed presents the results of the 2011 Presidential Perspectives survey. I’m pleased to report that The Campus Computing Project worked with the editors of Inside Higher Ed on this survey. More than 950 presidents completed the questionnaire, making Presidential Perspectives one of the largest surveys of campus leaders in recent years

How do we, as tutorial leaders or professors, deal with the revelation that students find classes or entire subject areas "boring?" And to what extent is it our responsibility to get them "interested?" These were questions that came to mind as I read Itir Toksöz’s recent UVenus post about “academic boredom”. While she was discussing the boredom she experiences in conversation with colleagues, my first thought was that boredom is not just (potentially) a problem for and with academics, but also for students.â€¨

Last week, I was thrilled to find a book in my campus mailbox that had been left there by our college president. It was a book that she had run across dealing with the “golden ratio”, and she thought I might enjoy it. By Mario Livo, it is called “The Golden Ratio: The Story of Phi, the World’s Most Amazing Number.” I am currently reading it, with plans of donating it to our library when I finish.

Back when Frau R. and I made the move from renting to owning our living space, we purchased a townhouse in a newly built community. It was in a metropolitan area well to the south of Backboro, and the air conditioning season was pretty much the same length as the heating season. (Up here in Backboro, I'm not convinced we even have an air conditioning season. I'm probably in the minority, but still . .